Local
Grooves
Jolie
Holland
Escondida (Anti/Epitaph)
Since releasing last year's Catalpa (Anti), the debut collection of
do-it-herself demos that inspired Tom Waits to nominate her for the
2003 Shortlist Award, Jolie Holland has been touted as everything from
a modern-day Billie Holiday to the next Norah Jones. She's neither,
of course, but Escondida proves the San Francisco songwriter
and onetime Be Good Tanyas member is still worthy of immense hype. On
this superb follow-up, her first album recorded in a proper studio
and already one of 2004's best local releases, Holland crafts the sort
of songs – mournful, fragile blues-folk with Appalachian country
and jazz inflections – that'd fit comfortably on CD shelves next
to those by Will Oldham, Sam Beam, and their unshaven ilk. She's better
than most old-timey traditionalists, however: on dark, creeping laments
like "Damn Shame," "Do You?," and Civil War ode
"Faded Coat of Blue," Holland doesn't simply evoke the past
so much as sound haunted by the same dead-of-night dread that spooked
Chan Marshall on Moon Pix. So stark is the album, in fact, that
its jauntiest track finds her pleading for "that old fashioned
morphine ... because the world is almost done." With Escondida,
however, Holland's career has just begun. Jolie Holland plays Fri/14,
Swedish American Hall, S.F. (415) 861-5016. (Jimmy Draper)
Kaskade
In the Moment
(Om)
The curse of the sophomore album strikes again on In the Moment, by San Francisco DJ and producer Ryan Raddon, a.k.a. Kaskade. First off, I had pretty high expectations after his standout 2003 debut, It's You, It's Me (Om), which was a refreshingly straightforward collection of clean house tracks with unusually strong vocals. And I had some of the standard, "Oh, he's been discovered – time to move on" critic bullshit that comes with appearances in Urb magazine's "Next 100" and BPM Culture's "America's Favorite DJ's" lists. But, all mental wankery aside, something's just a bit off on In the Moment. It's by no means a complete wash – there are some great songs, particularly the ones with Rob Wannamaker or Anthony Green on vocals; the clicky stomp of "Move" and the stop-and-go funk of "One You" succeed with their soulful singing and Raddon's sparse arrangements. And the giddy, Yaz-meets-rave feel of "Everything," a collaboration with Andy Caldwell, is a perfectly sweet dance pop confection, although vocalist Joslyn is no Alison Moyet. But the first half of the album is cluttered with overproduced numbers like the affected "Steppin Out" and the heavy-handed pop slow jam "Maybe." In the end, though, Raddon's obviously considerable talent makes In the Moment worth picking through for its successes. Kaskade plays May 19, Tonga Room, S.F. (415) 772-5000. (Peter Nicholson)
